This report summarizes the development of digital rights in Southeast Asia from January to December 2025. It covers the digital rights situation in eight Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, which are DigitalReach’s target countries.
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of digital rights developments in 2025. These developments help deepen understanding of both the local context in each country and the broader regional context, based on the trends and issues they share. The report also serves as a foundational source of information to support the design and implementation of initiatives that are responsive to these contexts.
The report has been reformatted from its previous 2023 version. The format of this 2025 report is based on DigitalReach’s revised organizational strategies. Under these new strategies, the organization’s work is divided into three main areas: Control of Information, Platform Accountability, and Digital Security.
In 2025, digital rights remain under threat in all Southeast Asian countries covered in this report. Governments and regimes across the region are intensifying efforts to control information, compelling social media platforms to comply with censorship directives, and tightening control over telecommunications, thereby increasing risks to the digital security of dissidents.